The Mind of the Serpent
by Zoheret and Dove
Summary: A cult is slowly taking over Spira and the heroes are scattered. Wakka has fallen and Lulu is mentally unstable. Rikku must find Kimahri and save Yuna from the rising evil, but who will save her if she falls? *NEW CHAPTER*
1. Prologue

The Mind of the Serpent  
  
A/N~ This story is mainly focused on Rikku. The upcoming chapters will be much more exciting, we promise! Please Read and Review, we'd really appreciate it.  
  
Disclaimer~ We do not own Final Fantasy X or any of the characters. Square does! Square owns everything! Well, maybe not Zeke, but he comes in later...heh  
  
~Zoheret and Dove~  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
Thirty minutes had passed since he'd arrived at the cliff over looking the village of Besaid. Thirty minutes ago he was supposed to meet someone here.  
The sun had set. It was dark, but light enough to see clearly.  
Sighing, he crossed his arms and leaned back. He'd been having strange reoccuring dreams about his brother Chappu. Chappu had been trying to tell him something, but he could never make out the words. The whole thing was rather unsettling.  
He turned his gaze from the ocean and looked behind him.  
"You're late, ya?" he called out as he recognized the figure striding toward him.  
"I was delayed. All that matters is that I'm here now." The figure responded.  
Wakka returned his gaze to the ocean. "It's strange..." he muttered.  
The figure nodded, its eyes staring at the clumps of grass a few feet away.  
Wakka turned back to look at the figure, and noticed its eyes were wide in surprise.  
"What's-"  
The figure stumbled forward, knocking into him.  
  
Suddenly he was falling, falling, falling to his death.  
  
The serpent that had been watching them let out a small hiss, and slithered away...  
  
~  
The grave was on a small hill near Besaid.   
Engraved on the tombstone was the name, Wakka. Four solemn figures circled around. It was a cheerful day, the exact opposite of what they were feeling.  
Lulu stared at the engraving in disbelief and shock.   
Rikku took a step forward, dropped a rose on the freshly turned soil, and stepped back, hugging herself.  
Kimahri turned around, and slowly walked away, keeping his emotions to himself.  
Yuna was crying silently, another of her Guardians was gone, another of her friends dead.  
Lulu suddenly spun on her heels, and began hurridly walking away, near a run.  
Rikku glanced at Yuna and sighed. "It'll be okay, Yunie." She said.  
"Everything will be fine."  
She looked back at the tombstone, wondering if what she said was the truth. 


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer~ We don't own Final Fantasy X or any of the characters, 'cause Square does!!!!!!  
  
  
Chapter One:  
  
Today was exactly one month since Wakka's mysterious death. A young Al Bhed girl stepped off the airship that had taken her from the newly rebuilt Home to Besaid. She was going to visit Yuna, to see how she was doing.  
The village was alive with its usual occupants running around busily. Cheerful kids played on the dirt road with Blitzballs as smiling parents watched.  
Rikku walked up the path to Yuna's house and frowned at the sight of dead plants around the hut. Rikku knocked, but there was no reply. She tried again. Nothing.  
She turned around and scanned the huts that lined the street. There was a man in a Blitzball uniform that was sweeping the area in front of his house.   
Rikku walked over to him and opened her mouth, but he interrupted. "The name's Berrik. I'm retired, so if you're-"  
"Do you know where Yuna is?" She asked, silencing the man. He shook his head and returned to sweeping.  
Rikku frowned again and walked back up to Yuna's house, hoping the dead plants weren't a sign of how long Yuna had been gone.  
She was about to open the wooden door when footsteps behind her made her stop short. Silently hoping it was Yuna she slowly turned around to find a young woman in a pretty blue and yellow dress with a sad smile on her face.  
This is not good, Rikku thought.  
"If you're looking for Yuna, you won't find her here." The woman said brightly, but the sad smile lingered.  
"Do you know where she went?" Rikku asked hopefully.  
The woman shook her head. "It was quite sudden. She didn't tell anyone she was going to go somewhere. I'm worried about her. If something happened to her..." She shook her head. "If you need a place to stay, there's a hotel down the road." The stranger offered. "Just tell them Lakkam sent you, and you'll only have to pay half price."  
"Thanks." Rikku muttered absently. Lakkam turned and walked away, humming to herself. Rikku sighed and opened Yuna's door.  
If she'd been expecting to find the place in ruins, she'd be disappointed. The whole place was neat, and organized. The sort of place that you'd be afraid to touch anything.  
But the house showed no life. Yuna was obviously not there. Rikku walked out of the hut in exasperation and uneasiness. There wasn't even a clue to where she went.  
  
~  
  
A figure dressed in dreary gray bent over the trembling form of a young woman. She was caught in a nightmare, one that seemed so real.  
"Sleep." The figure hissed.  
The young woman with short brown hair stopped trembling and eased into a deep, dreamless sleep.  
The dark clothed person smiled grimly and began to pace the one roomed hut, muttering under its breath. "Not safe here. No, not safe." It stopped, looked over its shoulder like it expected to find something, and then flung its arms heavenward.  
There was a crackle as lightning unleashed, striking the walls and seeping into the wood. The whole room became alive in wild light.  
"No one can enter." The figure muttered, a feral smile portraying its lips.  
Suddenly it crumpled to the floor. A vision had claimed its mind, tearing it from reality.  
  
~  
  
On the outskirts of Macalania, under the shadows of a small hill, was Lulu's house.  
From the surface of the airship, the house looked cozy and peaceful, but Rikku suspected the inside was far from it.  
Lulu had become distant after Wakka's death. She moved across ocean and land to get away from the memories Besaid held. Memories of Wakka.   
Rikku frowned and hopped off the airship. Hastily, she walked up the small dirt path that lead up to Lulu's house. Putting on a cheerful smile that she didn't really feel, Rikku knocked on the door.  
A crash was heard, and the door flung open. Lulu blinked a few times at the girl, as if she didn't realize who she was. Then suddenly she waved her into the house.  
Rikku stepped inside rather hesitantly while Lulu muttered a hello, and closed the door.  
The house was poorly lit with only a few pieces of furniture. There were no vases, or pictures, or any decorations of any kind. Though Rikku did note that Lulu had her old Attack Mog sitting in a chair.  
What brings you here?" Lulu asked as she lead Rikku into some sort of living room that held three chairs, a small table, and a violet rug.  
"Yunie." Rikku replied, deciding to simply get to the point. "She's disappeared.  
Lulu lifted one hand to her forehead and shook her head in disbelief and sadness.  
"When was the last time you heard from her?" Rikku inquired.  
Lulu glanced at the table, not willing to meet Rikku's eyes. "Since the burial." There was a few minutes of silence before Lulu spoke again. "I'll keep an eye out for her and listen to the rumors. But she'll be extremely hard to find considering Spira's so big and..." Lulu stopped and shivered.  
Rikku nodded. "I'm going to find Kimahri. Maybe..." She paused. "Maybe he'll know where Yunie is."  
  
~  
  
As Rikku began to walk to the travel agency that was placed in the snow right before Macalania, a figure in gray slid into the airship.  
It said no words, just simply raising a hand. The controls sizzled as lightning flickered over them, and water poured into every corner.  
And just as Rikku returned, the figure stepped out of the airship and ran off into the ominous night.  
  
A/N- And there's the first chapter! Please review so we know if you want more. And if you already have, thank you! 


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer~ Do not own...simple as that.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Rikku stood before the ruined airship. It was obvious by first glance that it was ruined. Steam rose from burnt wires as energy flickered over metal, and a slight humming was coming from the control panels.  
Suddenly the humming came to an arupt stop, the lights flickered and with a beep, turned off.  
Forcing herself not to sigh, she surveyed the damage. There was no way it would be up and running in a day, let alone a month. It looked like it had flown during Spira's worst thunder storm before nose diving into the earth.  
She kicked a piece of metal, that she had no idea where it'd come from, out of her way. Due to the fact it looked like scrap metal, and nothing like the shiny panels that the airship used to be built of, she seriously doubted if it had even be a part of the ship.  
After further inspection of the inside of the ship, her fears were confirmed. The control globe was shattered,the windows cracked, and strange wires laying everywhere. There was no hope of repairing any of it.  
Frustrated, she began walking away from the airship. There was nothing she could do here. Her only options were to either rent or buy a chocobo and ride her way to wherever Kimahri was, or make the trek on foot. Neither seemed really efficient, nor fast.  
Her feet brought her back to the path up to Lulu's house, and right at that moment, Lulu herself stepped from her open door.  
Her gaze slowly drifted over to Rikku, and after a moment she spoke, "I'm going out to look."  
Rikku nodded, slowly.   
'Yunie better be alright,' Rikku thought, 'it doesn't seem like Lulu can bear to lose another person she cares about.'  
"Something happened to the Airship, and it's no where near flying condition," she paused, letting it sink in, "do you know...do you know where I could buy a chocobo?"  
Lulu frowned, "There used to be an old man who had a couple on a ranch a few miles west from here, but don't expect much," her frown deepened, "it was a while ago, and he was old."  
Rikku tried to smile, "I'll see ya later Lu."  
Lulu only nodded in farewell.  
And with that, Rikku set off, hoping desparately that the time lost by having to trek around in search of a chocobo, wasn't hurting Yunie.  
  
~  
  
Yuna knew she was dreaming. She'd had this dream before, the one where the dead people came and spoke to her.   
They would mutter, and whisper urgently, their faces expressing that whatever they were saying, was extremely important, but however hard she tried, she couldn't make the words stick in her mind.  
But this time, he was there.  
He was standing with his back to her, his blond hair blowing in the breeze. Which was uncanny since this was a dream, and there shouldn't be a breeze, but she felt one.  
Yuna took a step forward, reached out one hand to tap him on the shoulder...  
She almost made it.  
But he wasn't there anymore, instead Auron stood before her, eyes staring straight into hers.  
"The serpent," he managed to say, before she was swept into the land of the wakeful people.  
Yuna opened blurry eyes to a sight she'd come to expect.  
A person in gray towered over her, and before she even could draw a breath, it had asked the horrid question. The question it always asked whenever she awoke.  
"What did you dream?"  
"I-I-I don't remember," Yuna stuttered, sitting up on her elbows.  
"You must remember," the person hissed.  
Yuna closed her eyes briefly, drew in a breath, "He was there, that's all I remember."  
The figure took a step back, seeming to be deep in thought.  
"Who are you?" Yuna dared to ask.  
The figure's head turned to stare at her, but she couldn't see anything through the folds of cloth that covered it.  
"You may call me," the figure seemed to think, "Alex."  
'A boy's and a girl's name,' Yuna thought annoyed, that didn't help her.  
"Always, the dead, speaking," Alex muttered, or rather hissed from deep within the gray cloth.  
Yuna, rubbed her forehead, and surveyed the room she was being held in.  
It had changed once again, but this time it looked familar. Maybe she'd stayed here before? An inn?  
  
~  
  
Three days later, Rikku found herself somewhere between Macalania and Bevelle. A day ago she'd given up any hope of finding the old man who sold chocobos. She intended to make her way to the Calm Lands. She knew a man who had chocobos there.  
It was strangely cold for the time of day, the sun was high in the pale blue sky, and there were no clouds. But it was cold. Shivering, Rikku kept on walking.  
In the distance she could make out something. It had to be either a person or a tree...Drawing nearer, she realized it was a person, a young man, and next to him was a chocobo.  
"Hello," the young man, called out to her, as she came within talking distance of him. He had on a black cloak that he adjusted before he fitted a rather large sword in a sheath on his back. His hair was pitch black and tousled, making it fall into his dark gray eyes.   
"Hi," Rikku said hesitantly, "could I, um, buy that chocobo off you?"  
The young man suddenly grinned,"Sure-" but before he could say more, at least ten figures came running over the hill behind him.  
His grin disappeared.  
"I, ah, I got to go," he declared, and jumped on to the chocobo.  
"Hey, wait!" Rikku yelled, "I need your chocobo."  
The young man, pulled on the reins, and stopped, frowning slightly.  
"Get on!" He told her.  
Rikku ran forward and hopped on, putting her arms around the guy's waist.  
"Hang on," he told her, and the chocobo lurched into a speedy run toward the people on the hill.  
Laughing as he passed them, the guy, yelled out, "Oh yea!" And bounced a leather purse in his fist. He'd grabbed it as he passed one of the men on the hill.  
Rikku stared at it thoughtfully, then back at the men, then down at the chocobo. She had a sinking feeling...  
"Hey! Um, did you...?"  
"What steal the bird?" he asked, twisting in his seat to smirk at her. "Of course."  
Rikku didn't really know how to respond so she asked, "What's your name?"  
"Oh, I"m Zeke," he replied.  
"Rikku," she said.  
They lapsed into silence, as they rode. Rikku studied the passing hills, wondering what she was going to do next.  
"If you were thinking of going to Bevelle, we're not going to," Zeke suddenly announced.  
"Why?"  
"It's not a good idea," Zeke told her sternly.  
Rikku shrugged, no longer caring.  
"I need your chocobo," she told him.  
"Yeah, you said that before," and suddenly they stopped.  
Zeke jumped off, and Rikku followed suit.  
Realizing she hadn't really looked at him before, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.  
He looked intimaditing, standing there in black, the sword on his back shining in the sun.  
"Why do you need the bird?" he asked.  
Rikku didn't answer right away, she didn't really know how to answer, "I need to get to Mt. Gagazet. One of my friends have disappeared and someone I know there might have some information."  
He nodded slowly, then turned around to face her.  
"Here's the deal, I'd lend you the bird, but I don't exactly trust you to bring him back to me. I'd sell him to ya, but I don't exactly need the money." He grinned. "What I need is the bird. So, I'll come with you to this Mt. Gagazet, and then I'll be off."  
Rikku nodded her consent, feeling like she really didn't have a choice anyway.  
  
~  
  
Review time! 


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three~  
  
Rikku hung on desperatly to Zeke's back as they sped through the Calm Lands. He was driving like a bloody maniac. Wait, was he even driving?!   
Craning her neck so she could look over his shoulder, she was a little relieved to see he had both hands on the reins. Now if only he knew how to use them correctly.  
"Um, Zeke, can we-" she began, but he turned and looked at her, interupting her with just the smirk on his face.  
"Do you want to slow down or something?" he asked, obviously amused. Rikku could have sworn the chocobo sped up.  
"No," she replied calmly, "the faster we get there, the sooner I can find Yunie."  
He looked like he was about to say something else, but a sudden lurch in the speeding of the chocobo stopped him from even opening his mouth.  
"What is it?" Rikku asked as Zeke struggled to calm the bird.  
"I'm not sure." He cast a look over his shoulder, past her, but there was no one on the plains behind them.  
Rikku squirmed in her seat, "Well-" she began, but before she knew it, Zeke had grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to the ground as he rolled off the chocobo.  
"Don't move," he commanded, as he jumped to his feet, and drew his sword, ignoring the fleeing yellow form.  
"Don't move, yeah right," Rikku mumbled as she got to her feet, dusting herself off.  
Glancing up, she caught sight of the giant snake slithering a couple feet in front of her. Zeke stood before it in battle stance, swinging his sword in one hand, then two.  
Smiling, Rikku ran forward. It'd been awhile since her last fight, and she needed a boost of adrenaline. Perfect timing.  
  
~  
  
Yuna was thrashing in her sleep, mumbling hoarsly and clawing at the blankets, as though she was trying to fight something off. It obviously wasn't working in whatever nightmare land her subconsicous mind had taken her to, for she continued fighting for a long time.  
And when she did awake, she immediately gasped for breath. Alex was visible, standing in a corner of the room, watching her.   
There was no one to comfort her and tell her all would be okay. She shivered.  
'I am strong,' she thought, 'I can do this on my own.'  
"I want to know why," Alex told her.  
Yuna looked up at the person blankly. In the back of her mind something told her she'd been doing that a lot lately.  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"I want to know why you have dreams. Why you are so special. I want to know what link you have with The Serpent," Alex stated simply, as if even a clueless child would have already figured it out.  
"I-I thought you were the Serpent," Yuna bravely answered.  
Alex gave her a long, cold stare, "I am not sure anymore. Am I the master or the tool?"  
Yuna blinked at statement a few times, not daring to reply.  
"No I am the Serpent," Alex told her, but the voice sounded unsure.  
Suddenly a thought came to Yuna. Something she'd forgotten. Something she shouldn't have.  
"Who died?" She asked calmly, her voice devoid of emotion.  
  
~  
  
Kimahri stood on the base of Mt. Gagazeet, spear in hand. It was his job to protect the Ronsos. It was his job to protect the secrets, it was his job, and his job alone.  
"Kimahri strong." He muttered.  
He glanced up at the star filled night, watched a shooting star fly across the darkness, and wondered.  
Where was the summoner he'd protected for so long? What if now she needed him? What kind of protector was he if she was in trouble right at this moment?  
He shook his head. Yuna was strong and she had others to protect her. Lulu, and Rikku, and... He almost added another name before he checked himself. It wasn't good to think of the past too much.  
This was his job now, protector of the secrets of the Ronsos, and it was a good job.  
"Kimahri is happy," he mumbled.  
But then why, in the back of his mind, did he feel like something was wrong?  
There were no more shooting stars that night.  
  
~  
  
In the grass it slithered, through the weeds and flowers, tongue flicking out once and awhile.   
It was no larger then the length of an arm, and no thicker, but the red and brown that colored its scales hinted of posion.  
Snakes are dangerous things.  
It saw a bag, lying on the ground, where a certain someone with gray eyes had thrown it down in his haste.  
With a simple flick of its tongue it slithered into the opening, coiling up inside.  
Someone would find an interesting treat.  
  
~  
  
Zeke hadn't expected Rikku to follow him into battle. He was so used to people chasing him half way...better not to think of that. Nobody ever actually worked with him. Come to think of it, he was a solo kind of guy. Living and working all on his own. Depending on others for his needs, which he took when he needed, or rather, wanted them.  
He attacked the giant snake with a slashing cut of his blade and stepped back, allowing Rikku to throw some sort of bomb. Both attacks seemed to do absolutly nothing.  
Zeke almost jumped when he heard Rikku laugh.  
"Isn't this strange?" she asked him, as she ran past, to attack the thing.  
"What?"   
"This isn't a fiend, it's just a giant..." she frowned. "Snake." And she was back in fighting stance.  
He tipped his head to the right and stared at the thing.  
Just a snake?  
Running forward, he jumped and plunged the blade deep into the neck of the slithering, hissing reptile, and slashed it side ways.  
The head fell off in a spurt of blood. But before he could inspect it closely, the whole thing blew up, with a flash of smoke.  
Rikku smiled impishly at him when he turned and glared at her.  
"What?" she asked sweetly, "you know some snakes can still attack you even if you chop of their head. Wouldn't want to get eaten by a stupid snake head, now would we?"  
He smirked. It hadn't been a rattle snake, but still...  
Zeke glanced back at the remains of the thing, swimming in smoke, maybe it wouldn't have been a good idea to get close to the head.  
The fangs glittered in the sunlight, the only complete remains of the carcass.  
  
~  
  
  
A/N~ We know it's kinda short and that it's been awhile. We're so sorry...but we do have a good excuse. You see school started this week and we've been so busy with that crap...er...fun educational stuff that you just want to smash with a hammer...er hug...and so we haven't had much time...We'll try harder...heh...  
  
Review! Please, we'd greatly appreciate it. 


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
It was strange, being dead. Sometimes it was like you weren't dead at all; you were free to walk around, free to be. Your body felt solid, and you could almost breathe in the air, could almost step through the boundary and back into the land of the living. But other times you felt a strange feeling of floating, like you were just a light suspended in air. And others...  
Other times death was water and you were swimming in it. Or maybe that was just for him, because he loved water so. It reminded him of blitzball. Yesterday he'd played, or was it the day before that?   
He shook his head, blond hair falling across his face. He kept forgetting that he wasn't supposed to try to figure out time here. Time was endless, time was nothing.  
Tidus looked around him. Where was Auron when you needed him? He tried to blink, but he was no longer in a solid like form. Now he was light.   
Something nagged at the back of his mind, something he knew was important, extremely important. What had it started with? X, something? No...s, that was it s, something. Sssss...star? Sun? Snake? Snake, it was snake. Something concerning snakes.   
And Yuna.  
He couldn't forget her, never her.  
Snakes and Yuna, that's what he had to talk to Auron about, but where was he?  
Tidus found himself running a hand through his hair, and sighed.  
It was going to happen, wasn't it?  
  
~  
  
Snakes are limbless, scaly, reptiles and more then often, treacherous people. They do not grow to be hundreds of feet tall, nor do they posses brilliant minds, so then why did she feel like this snake knew what she was thinking?  
It hissed at her, diamond eyes boring into her skull.  
"Nice, snakey," she told it.  
It didn't agree with her.  
Yuna slumped back against the wall. So the snake didn't like her, so what? She didn't like snakes much herself. That didn't give it a reason to go psycho on her and kill her...did it?  
If it did kill her, then at least Alex wouldn't be able to complete whatever brilliantly evil plan it'd come up with. Yuna smiled slightly, amused.  
What was with the giant snake anyway?  
  
~  
  
How had she known? How had that pityful child known that Celest Drega had died?   
Alex beat her fingers against the wood before it. Obviously it had something to do with the link Yuna had with the farplane, or that other place...the place that didn't have a name...  
All the plans Alex had made could disippate if Yuna found out about the link, or figured out how to use the link.  
Too many possiblities, too many ways the whole thing could blow up. And then there was the problem of snakes. They had started to appear, started following Alex around, as if they were a pet dog, and Alex the master. But sometimes Alex felt, that they were the true master, and that Alex was just the follower.  
  
~  
  
Lulu sat in a chair. She hadn't moved for quite awhile, and her muscles ached from the lack of use. But she didn't heed the pain, all her attention was on the blitzball before her, as it spinned around and around and around...  
If she wasn't in a state of total grief, she would have realized the oddness of the situation. Blitzballs do not spin by themselves, maybe on some skilled blitzers finger, but never by themselves, and certainly not in midair.  
But she was too grief filled to think.   
If only she would. If only she would snap out of the slump she was in and gather the pieces of the puzzle that were piled in the back of her mind. If only she would take those pieces and put them together...she would realize that magic was going beserk, that mere thoughts could make objects float, and lightning strike. And if only she would step outside her house and realize that she wasn't the only black mage with these problems.   
Somebody had to realize that Spira was slowly unspiralling, that summoners and black mages were having slight problems when it came to their lives. Strange things were happening...  
And who was going to notice?  
  
~  
  
Zeke grabbed his bag off the ground, slung it on his shoulder and turned to look at Rikku.   
"Looks like its on foot from here," he said unneccesarily, with a huge smile.  
She gave him an unbelieving look, "You still coming?" she asked.  
He nodded, flashing a grin that had melted hearts in dozens of cities, that by the way, no longer welcomed him.  
Rikku raised an eyebrow.  
"Hey, you owe me for the chocobo. After all, it was mine and it ran away," he paused. "So I figure you owe me."  
She started walking forward, "You stole it."  
"And your point is?"  
Rikku shrugged.  
He fell into step beside her, and they trudged forward in silence for a couple hours.  
Untill Zeke got sick of it all and spoke up.  
"It's an awfully long way to the mountains."  
Rikku didn't even glance at him, "I know."  
She sounded worried.  
They fell into silence again as they began to climb a small hill, the only sound the chirping of some bugs, and a slight whisper...  
Zeke grabbed Rikku and drug her to the ground.  
"That's the second time you've done this," she grumbled.  
"Shhhh," he answered.  
Zeke began crawling forward in the grass, hoping that when he looked over the hill, the people below him wouldn't look up.  
Jackpot, he thought as he surveyed the small camp the group had set up. Two gaurds, three merchants, five chocoboos and two wagons. He grinned. Not even a challenge.  
Before Rikku could figure out what he was going to do, he jumped off the hill, which was more like a small cliff, and with a small cloud of dust, landed on both feet, knees bent.  
Scurrying over to the chocoboo's he drew his sword and swiftly cut the rope, before the merchants even realized he was in the camp.  
People can be so blind, he thought.  
Jumping onto the bird, he dug his heels into it, and with a squak it began running through the camp. The merchants weren't blind to that.  
Within seconds the merchants had the gaurds running straight at Zeke, swords raised.  
He jumped off the chocoboo, one had holding the reins, the other his sword. He blocked a slash at his head, and kicked the first guard in the stomach. The other came at him with a twirl of blades that was meant to intimadate, but Zeke laughed in his face and knocked him off his feet with a punch in the gut.  
With both gaurds down, and the merchants shivering in their boots, he sheathed his sword and jumped back onto the chocobo.  
"Hey, Rikku!" he yelled out, and began riding away. "We won't get holes in our feet after all!"  
The merchants watched him leave, then turned and let out their anger by yelling at the fallen guards.  
  
~  
  
After being watched by a giant snake for probably a day or more, Yuna had made up her mind about one thing. She didn't just hate snakes, she loathed them. Them and their scales and their ability to slither everywhere, hissing at everything...  
Yuna glared at it, but it was looking at the door, not at her.  
Where had Alex gone? Alex never disappeared for this long before. Yuna smiled. Maybe one of the snakes had realized what a worthless freak Alex was and bitten its head off. Maybe...  
She realized she should sleep, that she hadn't slept for more than twenty-four hours. But she didn't want to sleep. Yuna shivered. Seeing the Farplane in her dreams was not bliss, nor was it healthy.  
I just might be insane, she realized. Giant snakes and dead people, and a figure with just a name. A stupid name too.  
She glanced at the door, and the snake followed her gaze.  
It heard the footsteps just as well as she did.  
Alex flung the door open, saw the snake but didn't say anything, just a glance.  
The snake didn't move. Yuna took that as a sign it didn't take orders from Alex. Was that good or bad?  
"So you hide from sleep?" Alex asked, but it really wasn't a question. "Sleep is important. It keeps you alive. You should sleep."  
And with that, Yuna slept.  
  
~  
  
A/N~ So people, whatcha think? Keep on writing or put it in that little bin in the corner of the computer screen? If you don't review then we won't know what to do...And what is with the snakeys anyway? Mayhap in the next chapter the secret of the giant snakes will be revealed...  
~Zoheret and Dove~ 


	6. Chapter Five

A/N ~ Alive...yes...We believe we are alive...  
  
Chapter: 5  
  
Zeke suddenly pulled on the reins of the bird, bringing them to an erupt stop. Rikku clenched her teeth, and forced herself not to be thrown forward; she suceeded in not falling off.  
Zeke leapt off, tearing his bag off the saddle of the bird as he did so. Rikku gazed at him with tired blurry eyes, and tumbled off.  
"So how much longer do you think, till Mt. Gagazet?" Rikku inquired as she watched him build a ring of stones.   
He paused in his construction, eyeing the circle as if it was a work of art that lacked one thing...  
"Light a fire," he commanded, and threw her his bag.  
Raising an eyebrow at him, she mumbled under her breath and began to dig around in the bag."Where's Lulu when you need her?"   
Something struck her hand, drawing blood. She was dimly aware she was supposed to light a fire, but all she could think about was how bags shouldn't have teeth...  
  
*  
  
Yuna yawned and stretched. It seemed all she ever did now was sleep...and have nightmares...and then sleep some more.   
Rising to her feet, she made her way over to the door, pressing her ear against it. Maybe she'd be able to hear something...or someone.  
It was a futile attempt, one she made each day, or night. She could no longer tell what time it was when she woke up. There were no windows in any of the rooms she was kept in, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen sky.  
Unless nightmares counted. She'd seen more than she wanted to of darkened skies and slithering serpents.  
A sound brought her out of her thoughts. Someone was plodding their way down the hall, toward her room...Alex?  
Worried, Yuna threw herself across the room and onto the pile of blankets she called a bed.  
Seconds later, the door creaked open, and a young lady walked in.  
"Who-?" Yuna began, picking up a little bit of courage.  
"Hello, hello," the lady puffed out, excited for no apparent reason, "I am Amelia Werkta, a Novice in the Fayth of the Serpent, and I am here to-"  
Yuna cut her off, bewilderment giving her more courage. "The Fayth of the Serpent?!"  
"It is a new religious order, without the old fayths and suchlike no one really knows what to belive in. Some have even started to doubt in the Farplane. Of course it isn't really a real Fayth because there's no trials, and no summons, and of course all the summoners are gone, and..." the lady blushed. "I'm rambling again aren't I? I always tend to ramble."  
Luckily for Yuna, Amelia stopped speaking, but Yuna was more confused then she'd been before.  
"W-why are you here?" she asked, wondering what had happened to her courage. What would the Fayth of the Serpent want with her?  
Amelia gave her an astonished look, "I'm to take you to the Temple."  
Yuna stared at her blankly.  
"To bring you into the Order of course. Alex has commanded that you be initiated into our highest ranks," she paused, a little curious as to why a look of horror covered Yuna's face, "you should be honored."  
  
*  
"Rikku?" Zeke muttered frantically, "Rikku?!"  
She just lay there, barely breathing, her bandaged hand still bleeding freely, even with all the cloth he'd wrapped around it.  
His eyes hardened as he considered his position.  
He had a stolen bird, a wounded girl he'd just met, no sign of what bit her, and who knows how many miles between him and Mt. Gagazet.  
Lifting her up in his arms easily, he put on the chocobo and jumped on behind her.   
Pulling on the reins, he swung the bird in a circle, dropping his bag into the ring of stones as he did so.  
He no longer trusted it.  
"Mt. Gagazet is probably the closest thing to us out here," he mumbled to Rikku as the chocoboo sped up.  
  
*  
  
She was dressed in crimson red robes, tied with a silver belt with a serpent on its clasp.  
Around her in a circle were the Keepers of the Fayth of the Serpent, all dressed likewise.  
"Yuna," one spoke, although she couldn't tell which one,"you have been chosen to become a part of us, to join with the new Order."  
"Do you accept?" asked another.  
Yuna didn't answer right away, just kept her gaze on the serpent that one of the crimson robed was bringing towards her.  
"Do you accept?" someone repeated.  
"It is either this or the bite of the snake..."  
'Forgive me, Tidus,' Yuna thought feverishly, 'for not being brave enough.'  
"Y-yes, I accept," Yuna whispered, eyeing the scaly thing.  
The group began to clap, and the serpent slid from the robed ones arms and onto hers, slithering its way around her neck, where it rested like a necklace.  
It was then she noticed, the other's wore serpents too.  
"Welcome," the circle hissed together.  
Something happened and Yuna passed out. 


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter 6  
  
A/N~ Another chapter, ya.  
  
Dis Claim ER~ FINAL FANTASY X does not, and will never, belong to either the one called Zoheret or the one named Dove  
  
~Zoheret and Dove~  
  
Kimahri was gazing out into the snow. Something was telling him that he should, that he needed, to watch the pass...something was coming.  
Minutes ticked by, which bled into an hour, and an hour turned into three. But at the last moment, when he was just about to turn around and head back to the main camp, he noticed something yellow.  
Jumping down the snow covered rocks, he kept his eyes fixed on the yellow spot, watching as it drew nearer. Soon he'd be able to determine if it was threat or friend.  
But the sight he saw confused him. It was a young man, somehow a little familar, riding a chocobo, no, racing a chocobo straight at him. The man was obviously blinded by the falling snow, or maybe the exhaustion that he hid in his eyes.   
Something was making him race forward...perhaps something was chasing him?  
It was then that Kimahri noticed the slumped form that rode in front of him, blond hair sticking out of a blanket...  
Rikku!  
He left the rocks, bounding out towards the rider. Threat or not, he'd help Rikku...and kill the boy if he ended up to be an enemy.  
  
~  
  
There was snow and ice...swirling around him. He could no longer feel his fingers or his legs, but there was still that urge to keep going. Why? His whole body screamed out as he kept the bird racing forward, why?  
He could no longer recall, his mind frozen numb from the atmosphere around him.   
Where was he going? Where?  
And then before him, out of the white, appeared a tall blue object...being...something...And just as he slumped off the bird, passing out from riding four days straight, the blue being reached him, and part of his mind was at ease.   
He'd reached his goal...now if only he could remember it...  
Blackness...  
~  
She lifted the hood of her cloak over her head, covering her shoulder length brown hair. Idily, her mind marked on how long it had grown, how things had changed.  
She stepped out of the doorway, into the darkness of the empty room; her room.  
The snake around her kneck hissed slightly, but Yuna ignored it. After a few days of having the thing around her kneck she'd learned to ignore it...but not to forget it.  
She shivered as she stopped in the center of the room, whatever power she'd gained from becoming a part of the Fayth of the Serpent, told her the dimensions of the pitch black room...and that someone was standing in the left corner, one who hadn't been there before.  
"Hello Yuna," it muttered, revealing itself to be Alex, and it stepped forward.  
Yuna drew a breath, trying to steady herself. What did it want?   
"What," she struggled to force herself to speak. "What do you want?"  
The figure didn't laugh, or smirk, or do anything right away. Alex just stood there, unmoving, and then...  
"What I've always wanted, you stupid fo-" Alex began, its tone icy, but then caught itself," I want information."  
Yuna gazed at where Alex must be standing, not answering. Alex wanted to know...what exactly? Why she had visions of the dead?  
"Can the dead come back?" Alex asked suddenly.  
"B-back?" Yuna replied, caught off guard, but then remembered she was a Keeper of the Fayth of...  
What was happening to her?   
With a small shock she realized slowly, inevitably, she was being currupted and becoming a true member of this...cult...  
"Go away," she hissed at Alex, "Go away!"  
Her eyes glowed red, and her mind didn't register that Alex actually left, actually took an order from her...  
Yuna blinked, and slumped to the floor...the dead filling her minds eye.  
  
~  
He opened his eyes groggily, and slowly sat up.  
"Sword?" he muttered to himself, looking around wildly, where was it?   
It was his only link to his...no mustn't think about it...Rikku!  
The past caught up to him finally, a bubble of memories bursting in his mind, and he finally realized he was in a strange tent-like building...without his sword.  
Zeke got to his feet, glancing around wildly.  
What to do?  
  
A/N~ Yep. Short... but review anyway! 


	8. Chapter Seven

A/n~ Finally we were able to write this fic. The bad thing is when you write this fic you can't be hyper and we're usually hyper unless we're pissed at something...  
  
Disclaimer~ If we told you we owned Final Fantasy the people who run the crazy house would come and take us away. So...we have no choice but to deny any rights to Final Fantasy and its goodness...  
  
~DOVE and Zoheret~ (HA! HA!)  
Her mind felt...foggy. There was no other word for it, no other word that would describe what she felt. Swimming through mud might explain it, but not fully.   
A few times she came near to waking, but the energy needed to open her eyes was too valuable at the moment. She could not return to the world of the waking.  
And so, Rikku, dreamt.   
There were snakes at the beginning, slithering and twirling around her. Hissing and flicking their tongues at her. But someone with gray eyes drove them off, waving his sword as he did so.  
And then there were voices. Close enough to hear, but too far away to understand. Once, she heard her name. It was not repeated.  
Then there came a point where she knew she was near the end. Near the end of what exactly, was not clear. But Rikku felt as if she were about to fall and idily wondered if there was one who would catch her.  
Maybe she should try and see what would happen?  
A cliff appeared in her dream, snakes writhering in the waters below. The sound of waves crashing on the banks echoed through her foggy mind.  
Gray eyes stared into her own, and with a flash were gone.  
  
A man stood before her, blond hair flying in a horrific wind she did not feel.  
"Don't, Rikku. You mustn't fall," he told her.  
Fall? She wanted to ask what he meant, but she couldn't form the words.  
"Please, Rikku, go back to the land of the living. The Farplane is not for you. Not yet."  
This man...this guy...this boy...he was...  
She gulped in air, blinking eyes open as she sat straight up.  
Gray eyes stared worridly into her own.  
"You okay?" Zeke asked slowly, eyes frequently turning to the tent flap.  
He was not the blond haired soul, the one who was dead. He was not the one that...  
He was not...Tidus...  
"Rikku?"   
'How am I alive?' she screamed in her head, 'Tidus! TIDUS! What is happening?!'  
Zeke watched as she slumped over, passing again into sleep, but this time the tranquil oblivion of true rest.  
  
~  
  
Yuna grinned idily as she walked through the temple grounds. The snake around her kneck hissed softly.  
Alex was sure to appear anytime now.  
...Finally.  
"Hello, Alex," Yuna greeted softly.  
Alex muttered something and glared at the Maester of the Fayth of the Serpent. How had she risen so high so fast? What was speeding her along the path of power?  
"Tell me. Please." The words were a desperate plea, begging for the knowledge that had been denied for so long.  
"You wish to know how to bring death to life?" Yuna asked slowly as she petted her snake.  
Alex nodded, a sharp intake of breath revealing the hopefullness that this time the knowledge would be given.  
"Perhapsssss it isssss time for you to know," Yuna hissed, and turned around, Alex following at her heels.  
"Perhapssss the truthsssss are clossssser than you know..."  
  
~  
  
'Please no. Please. Please.'  
CRY. CRY. WHY DON'T YOU JUST CRY.  
'I shall not cry. I will not cry. There are no tears in death.'  
CRY. HUMANS CRY. LIFE CRIES. CRY TO BE REBORN.  
'Who are you?'  
GUARDIAN. LIFE. MORE THAN DEATH.  
'I am Tidus, but you already know that, don't you?'  
YES.  
'What do you want?' It was unusually for him to speak to other beings in the Farplane. It was hard to find those who wished to talk.  
I OFFER YOU LIFE AND YOU WILL NOT GRASP IT?  
'I do not understand.'  
NAIVE SOUL!  
'...'   
I WAS ONCE CALLED FROM THE FAYTH. I WAS NAMED...SHIVA...  
'...'  
THERE IS DEATH FOR US, TOO. BUT WE STILL HOLD SOME POWER. YOU ARE A DREAM, AND YET HERE YOU ARE IN THE FARPLANE.  
'I have often...'  
DO NOT INTERUPT! WHILE YOU ARE REMEMBERED YOU WILL NOT FADE. BUT MEMORIES EVENTUALLY DIE, AND DREAMS FADE FROM THE HEART. EXCEPT OUR GIFT.  
'Huh?'  
I WILL TAKE THAT AS A YES.  
  
~  
  
Somewhere where the grass grew tall and there was no sign of snow yet on the ground, a body appeared face down in the earth. The blond head moved after a few minutes, and the body pushed itself to it's feet.  
Staring up at the sky, he listened to the echoing of words.  
YOU SHALL BE THE LINK. YOU SHALL HEAL THE WOUND. YOU SHALL REDEEM THE FAYTH. YOU SHALL ELIMINATE THE SERPENTS.  
"Eh?" he scratched the back of his head, "Guess my reputation as a hero caught up with me finally."  
Smiling jovially, Tidus turned towards the mountains.  
  
~  
  
She awoke, and once again Zeke was the first person she saw. "Ugh...How long have I been out of it?"  
"For about a day."  
"Where are we?"  
"Somewhere on Mt. Gagazeet. Your friend is with us."  
Rikku sat up. "Kimahri?" She turned around and saw the solemn blue figure of her old comrade. "Hello Kimahri!" She was about to get up but Kimahri's large paw-like hand pushed her back down.  
"Rikku hurt. Rikku must rest."  
"But I feel better now."  
Kimahri shook his head and glanced over the Calm Lands, to a place she and Zeke could not see. "Kimahri must save Yuna-"  
"What? You know about Yunie too? How?"   
"Kimahri feels it. Kimahri knows when Yuna is in trouble."  
"Well I'm coming too. So is Zeke."  
"Rikku must sleep now."  
Rikku sighed, and layed back down. She listened to Kimahri and Zeke's incomprehensible conversation for a while, before being swept away in her slumber.  
  
A/N~ There you go. Another chappie by the Z and D team...U like? U hate? Tell, speak, talk, write, type, woteva, using that little button labled review...oh and one more thing! Reviewer uu, we would like to ask you a simple question. Did you mean bad, like the lingo bad? Or bad like the dictionary form of bad? 'Cause you weren't very clear. We shall take it as a compliment. If you meant it as a flame, well then, you aren't very talented at making insults are you? 


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